Alaska Dispatch is a regional reporting powerhouse. A for-profit that fights aggressively for online ad dollars the Dispatch still manages to be generous with its editorial budget. It sent a reporter all the way to the Gulf Coast to cover the BP spill and the potential fallout for Alaska’s own oil industry. The site was also the first news outlet to file a lawsuit to obtain the release of documents pertaining to Senate hopeful Joe Miller’s background as a government lawyer. (Perhaps not coincidentally site co-founder and editor Tony Hopfinger earned national attention during the 2010 midterms when he was handcuffed by Miller’s security detail.) Even in the midst of large-scale enterprise reporting the Dispatch makes sure to keep up the blogs commentary and overall Alaska feel that maintain its relationship with readers. Hopfinger believes in the importance of storytelling. To that effect: “We’ve got a reporter working on a good bear attack story right now.”